Choice
by patricia51
Summary: Sequel to "Trump Card" and "Decisions". Using Mary's computer at work one day Marshall finds something that changes his world forever. Marshall/Abigail


Choice by patricia51

(Sequel to "Trump Card" and "Decisions". Using Mary's computer at work one day Marshall finds something that changes his world forever. Marshall/Abigail.)

(Albuquerque)

Marshall Mann glared at the screen of his computer. Unimpressed by his look the offending piece of machinery continued to stubbornly blink the same error message at him. Several attempts to reset had failed just as badly as the glare and an attempt at reason.

He sighed. Either he was becoming seriously machine-incompatible or WitSec really needed to get some new computers. He suspected if he pried the cover off his he would find "Commodore 64" stamped inside.

All that aside he needed to do a search or two. He glanced over to Mary's workstation. His partner really hated to have anyone else plundering through her things. Which was rather contradictory of her since she never showed the slightest hesitation to stick her nose into anything she found interesting. He smiled. But then a contradiction like that didn't bother her either. Now one involving a witness, that was completely different. Those she hung onto, turned inside out, studied and dissected until she found out what it all meant.

Regardless of all that, the important thing was that she was off today. And unlike days of yore she actually took those days off. So he plopped himself down in her chair, turned the monitor on and settled the keyboard in the position he preferred.

His mind drifted slightly to Mary and Baby Mary and he smiled. Kicking and screaming the whole way his partner was becoming a settled, capable and loving mother. He was also pleased at how she was finally accepting the changes in Mark; changes that showed just how he had grown from the young twerp she remembered him as twenty years ago when they were married to the stable working man he was now.

Not concentrating completely he automatically acted as though he was using his own computer and brought up the search history. Firmly reminding himself to keep his mind on his job he looked at the list. He expected no surprises. Rather he figured his partner would pretty much have the same searches since they worked the same cases together. And the list WAS mostly a carbon copy of his. Except...

A frown crossed Marshall's face. Why would Mary be running a search on Abigail Chaffee? And a recent one too. She did it the day after she had spent the night at his place. Had she run across something that made her think of Abigail? If so what was it and why in the world would she have followed it up?

He had understood Mary's feelings about Abigail, better than his partner understood them herself. Not that he considered Mary selfish; she had risked her life too many times for too many people for that to be true. Rather she had her own zone of comfort, especially with the people around her and preferred it to remain just as it was. That was why she had refused to let Mark in closer for so long, why she would forgive Brandi for running off from her wedding and why she had trouble with Abigail. She liked knowing just how he was going to react to any given situation and his being with Abigail had changed things. Mary's claim "Hey I'm all about change" to the contrary the female Marshal detested it.

Back to the question at hand. He reopened Mary's search and followed the various web pages she had visited. Abigail was back in Dallas. Not too surprising. Now this was interesting. He would have thought she would be working for Dallas PD. Instead she was employed by her alma mater Southern Methodist University. True, it was as a member of the University Police Department which was, like most college police forces now, a fully certified, trained and armed force equal to any other small city's police. The days of the stereotyped bumbling "campus cop" were long gone. She was even a detective there he saw.

Why? Not that there was anything wrong with what she was doing but it didn't seem like a position that Abigail would have chosen. She loved the challenge of being a detective. In her current job it seemed likely that if anything major happened Dallas PD would be called in to "assist", meaning "take over the case". Although not fanatical about it Abigail was reasonably ambitious and this didn't seem like a path to higher rank and more prestigious and interesting assignments. She was capable of so much more. So why?

Marshall idly looked over more of the information that Mary had dug up. An item caught his eye and he frowned again. What the heck? He took a closer look.

"Good GOD!"

(Next day)

Mary walked into the office and collapsed in her chair. Thank goodness coffee no longer tasted strange she thought as she sipped and smiled with satisfaction. Even when this was her third cup this morning.

"Long night?"

She glanced up at her boss.

"Everyone tells me that eventually she will sleep through the night."

Stan shrugged. "That's what they say?"

"They just don't say WHEN." Mary looked around the office. "Where's Marshall?"

"He's taking a few days off."

"For what?"

"I have no idea. He burst into my office yesterday morning and said he had some immediate personal business to take care off and he'd be back in a couple of days. He didn't say what and I didn't have time to ask him." The supervisor shook his head. "I didn't understand it either. Whatever it was hadn't happened when he first came in because he settled down to do some work. I don't think he got a phone call. Just all of a sudden he jumped up from your desk and stormed in here and then he was gone."

"My desk?"

"Yeah, his computer was on the fritz again so he was using yours."

"Using mine?" Mary felt the bottom fall out of her stomach. "Stan? Did he say where he was going? And please tell me that it was anywhere but Texas."

The startled look Stan gave her was all the answer Mary needed.

(Dallas)

Detective Abigail Chaffee had a satisfied look all over her face as she walked through the front door of the SMU Police Department. She had been on the job for thirty six straight hours but she had broken a burglary ring that had been stealing laptops, TV's and other electronics nearly as fast as the students, or their parents, had been able to replace those items.

"Abigail the Chief wants to see you," the desk sergeant called to her as he buzzed her through the remote controlled door leading into the offices proper of the department. She nodded and headed down the hall. When she reached the Chief's administrative assistant she was waved right in to the open door of the inner office.

"Hi Abigail. From the smile on your face I take it there won't be any more repetitions of those break-ins."

"Absolutely Chief. Chambers rolled on the others. The entire group is fighting to see who can squeal the fastest on the rest of them. There won't even be any trials involved."

"And the stolen goods?"

"Stored safely at an off-campus apartment. The group hadn't even tried to sell any of them. So with everyone pleading out the students should get their belongings back in short order."

"Excellent." The man nodded and looked at the calendar. "It's Thursday afternoon. Why don't you take a long weekend? Be back here bright and early on Monday morning. Get reacquainted with your little boy. You've been putting in way too many hours lately."

"I won't object to that at all," Abigail's smile broadened. "Just as soon as I finish my report I'm gone."

"That'll be fine. Good job Abigail."

Humming to herself the Texas detective sat down at her desk. Her fingers flew across the keyboard. With a grunt of satisfaction she printed the form and signed it. She headed back down the hall, pausing to hand it to the desk sergeant.

"Log this will you please Don?"

"Sure Abigail."

"Thanks." She headed out the door, turned and in spite of her weariness walked almost bouncily down the drive that led to the parking in the rear. She made her way through marked units, the personal cars of other officers and administrative personnel until she reached where she had parked her unmarked unit. She DID enjoy the perk of being able to take her unit home. It saved her a ton of money.

Busy with the thoughts of the case she had just closed the person leaning against the hood of her unit with his arms folded across his chest didn't register until she was much to close to turn and flee. Not that it would have done any good of course. He had found her all the way in Texas. What was she going to do, go hide in a corner of the parking lot? So she swallowed and tried to paste a smile on her face even as her heart thumped in her chest.

"Why Marshall Mann, whatever are you doing here?"

"Abigail, we need to talk. A talk we should have had a year ago but better late than never."

The female detective realized that there wasn't any point in dissembling. It was obvious that Marshall wasn't on any kind of fishing expidition. He knew. How he had learned it all she would find out shortly she was sure.

"Coffee?"

"Where?"

He wasn't budging an inch. And who could blame him? Okay then, she would just give in all the way.

"Home."

Now he lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Obviously he hadn't thought she would give in as easily as she had. When he shrugged and repeated her address she knew that he had really done his homework. Did that signify anything special?

During the drive home she wrestled with that thought. Why was he here? Okay, that reason was obvious; he had discovered the secret she had taken with her when she left Albuquerque and him a year ago. But why now? Had he just found out? If so why had he waited so long to look for her? And if he had known for some time than why was he just now showing up?

Abigail was still trying to sort everything else as she pulled up into the driveway of the small house she rented. Automatically she unlocked the front door, made her way to the kitchen and made coffee. Marshall stood silently in the archway between that room and the living room. Then something caught his eye and he walked into the living room. Abigail had a good idea why.

In short order she followed him, balancing a steaming mug in each hand. Wordless she set his down on the end table he was standing next to as he studied the picture he held in both hands. She waited, now holding her own cup in both hands. Even though he had come to her the next move was up to him.

Without lowering the picture Marshall reached down, grasped his coffee and sipped it. He finally turned around and looked at her, his expression guarded so that she couldn't read him.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?"

Well that was direct and to the point. Her answer would have to be the same. Fortunately she had thought about it long and hard before she left and time had only strengthened her belief that what she had done was the best for all concerned. Still though, once again she relived the fantasy she had let herself revel in several times where she, Marshall and their child formed a happy, loving and stable family. And once again she dismissed it. It was only a fantasy.

"Because telling you would have forced you into a situation where everyone would have lost," she replied, looking the man she still loved right in the eyes. "You probably would have 'done the right thing' and married me but your heart isn't with me Marshall it's with Mary. Sooner or later you would have felt trapped. Oh you would stay with me; you're that kind of guy but what kind of relationship would we have?"

Marshall looked at her steadily. "I don't know. But I deserved to have a chance to find out rather than have you decide everything on your own."

Abigail nodded jerkily. "I know Marshall, I should have given you the choice but I was scared."

"Scared?"

"I was scared you would think I had deliberately got pregnant. That you would think I had done it to trap you. And I couldn't face what you would have thought of me for that. I wanted to end things while you still at least had some respect for me even if you didn't love me."

"For God's sake Abigail," Marshall Mann had finally had enough and erupted, "I've just about had enough of that. Mary is my partner. She's been my partner for years and the bond between us is very strong. I'm not sorry I dove on top of her that day in the courthouse. It was instinctive, someone covering their partner, a man covering a pregnant woman."

The anger faded and suddenly he chuckled. "Do you know what Mary said when I told her I had explained the whole thing? Using the terms I did back then?"

Abigail shook her head.

"She called me a 'douche-bag'. And she was right."

Abigail desperately tried to smother a grin. She could SEE the female Marshal shaking her head in disgust at her partner's male blindness.

"Oh go ahead and laugh." Marshall sighed. "I was trying to use logic to explain an emotional situation. I do that and it never works out very well."

"Like 'I'm now prepared to put my gun in your safe'?" Abigail mustered up the courage to tease him.

"Exactly."

Silence fell over the room but now it was a more relaxed silence, a companionable one rather than one laced with tension.

"Abigail," Marshall set his coffee cup down, on a coaster of course, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what? I'm the one that took off on you. I thought I was doing right but I was the one who left."

Not even inwardly did Marshall smile at Abigail's use of the past tense. "But I let you go. And I never should have done that. I should have made you listen. And I never, ever should have left this, left us, hanging for so long. I buried myself in my work and tried to forget about you. But it didn't work. No matter how hard I shoved you into the corner of my mind you came back."

"I've never been able to stop thinking about you either," Abigail returned softly. She watched as Marshall once more looked at the picture in his hand; a picture of her and their son. His thumb rubbed the glass right over the baby's face and his toothless grin.

"I must admit I was amazed when I found out about all this. I'm still amazed."

"When did you find out? And how?"

"Yesterday. It took me that long to get here. As for how I found out, I think that will have to wait until I myself get the full story."

"Which means," but there was only laughter in Abigail's voice now, "that somehow Mary is involved in this."

"Uh-huh." Marshall related finding the search on his partner's computer. "But why she was suddenly looking for you I have no idea."

Abigail came to a decision, a decision she realized now she should have made a year ago, albeit in a different fashion.

"Marshall will you excuse me for just one minute."

"Of course." Curiosity lit his face but Abigail didn't say anything more. She left the room and moments latter the back door banged open and then closed. It was barely more than the stated time when he heard that same door again. He turned. Abigail was standing with a blanket wrapped bundle in her arms.

"Marshall, this is your son."

The two adults moved together until their child could be shared between them. Marshall peered down at the baby, a look on his face of happiness mixed with awe and uncertainty.

"What's his name?"

"Mary didn't find that out for you?" teased Abigail.

"Nope."

"His name is Marshall. Marshall Daniel after his father and his maternal grandfather."

Marshall Smiled again. He shifted slightly, supporting his namesake with one arm while he slid the other one around Abigail's waist.

"I guess there's really only choice about what to do next then."

(Albuquerque)

Stan was hardly surprised when he arrived at the office only to find Mary pacing anxiously back and forth in front of his office.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Well what?" he replied with an air of innocence.

"You know damn well what Stan."

The boss Marshal relented. "Yes, Marshall called. He'll be on his way back in a couple of days."

"Is that it?"

"No actually he wanted to ask you two things."

"Which were?"

"The first was if you would cover the caseload for him."

Mary made an inpatient gesture. "He knows I will. What was the second thing?"

"This one I didn't understand. He said to ask you how long before they finally sleep through the night."

Surprising even herself, Mary smiled.

(The End)


End file.
